Lightningbug's Jazz and Blues Review ... the birth of the cool ...


More from conversations about jazz with my buddy Jazzbo...

Herbie Hancock Mr. Hands (1980)
The 1970s began very creatively for Herbie, first with the space funk Mwandishi albums follwed by the better-known Head Hunters period that firmly eastablished Herbie's pre-eminance in synthesized instrumental funk.

But as the decade wore on, the music got less and less creative until it devolved into generic disco. Right at the end of this era, though, Hancock re-asserts control to generate an electric jazz album with every song distinguishable and original.

Jaco Pastorious puts in meaningful contributions on two tracks, while VSOP mates Ron Carter and Tony Williams guests on a nice island flavored tune appropriately titled "Calypso". Harvey Mason's tricky rhythm on "Shiftless Shuffle" is a reminder of the genius he bestowed on Head Hunters seven years earlier.

But "Just Around The Corner" has got to rank up there with one of the funkiest tunes ever to come from Hancock, the bass/drum progression is the very definition of funk.

Grover Washington, Jr. Live At The Bijou (1977)
At the height of his pre-Winelight popularity, Washington cuts a live date in his home town of Philly and amply demonstrates that the allure of his sound wasn't entirely dependent on producer Creed Taylor's studio magic.

Not a lot of big names playing in his band, but it's tighter than a drum. Yeah, this too is very much a period record, but it still grooves with a vengence.

I mean, how can you sit still through songs titled "Funkfoot" and "Lock It In The Pocket"? Oh, and in case you were wondering, he does play his classic "Mr. Magic" here, too.
 
I was in a jazz shop, years ago (great name, a West Monroe legend, now gone: Orbit Records), digging through catalogs for something to order.
I saw: Adderly/Evans. I thought, this is either Gil or Bill. Didn't know which. Didn't CARE! Just ordered it.

It was Know What I Mean? (1961): I should have put this record on a "most underrated" list somewhere: Cannonball Adderly and Bill Evans from the best Miles band ever.

Julian's backing band also includes Percy Heath and Connie Kay and many of the songs are originals by Bill. How can a record by Cannonball and Evans, both at the top of their games, be anything less than spectacular? C'mon.

This "Waltz for Debby" is, to my ear, superior. They added different takes on "Who Cares?" and the title track for the CD, too.

P.S.: A favorite moment on the Cannonball greatest hits package on Capitol: The Roebuck Staples send-up: WHY AM I TREATED SO BAD?
For a Grambling fan this year? A revelation, baby.
 

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Saw my man Leroy Marshall (L.C. Smoove) blowing at a spot in Monroe last weekend, and pulled out one of his old records. It's called "New Spices."

When it comes to Marshall, you expect sweet soul ballads, great groovy moods, heaping helpings of delightful romanticism. Consider it done.

The initial track here, ?Tupelo,? is very Grover Washington. And, really, there?s no better song to begin any album by Leroy, who?s made his name playing jazz so sweet that nine out of 10 dentists have trouble recommending it. (This is a good thing.)

Perhaps the set?s best song plays with that formula, however. And it comes early on: ?Can?t Stop? has an easy-going opener, yet it stays coiled because of terrific percussive work by Mark Lane Smith.

All a nice set up, really, for that moment when the singers join in, led impressively by Charlotte Johnson. Here, the song catches a strong head wind ? sending Marshall, at one point, in the kind of explorations that recall Sonny Rollins.

Rollins? A sax player chiefly famous for his very moody vibrato? One song into a new CD and Marshall?s already going places he?s only rarely been to. Yep, you can be sure ?New Spices? is worth the dime.

?Can?t Stop,? by the way, does stop. It restarts, though, with Marshall effortlessly floating back into a lover-man mood. But keep your funky shoes on. Everybody starts swinging again ? and there?s a muscular finish, like an exclamation point.

All the songs were written by Marshall, and he?s got a great feel for love songs. (Tip of the hat, I guess, to wife Tisa for softening him up.) ?Passion? makes good on its title; ?The Moment? has a quiet dignity that makes it a high point.

Speaking of Tisa, vocalist Jonathon Williams is featured on the very pretty ?A Wonderful Life,? dedicated to her. Williams is a solid, if not terribly distinctive, singer. If you love Luther, you?ll like this.

Guitarist Carvel Avis, on the other hand, is the ace in the hole on ?New Spices.? Check ?Miya,? where in a single song he pulls in influences from Pat Metheny (very modern) to Wes Montgomery (very riff-y).

Avis is a revelation, too, in ?Bounce? ? a tune with a feel familiar to fans of the great local funk band that Marshall leads, L.C. Smoove.

Then there?s the aptly titled ?Blues in D Minor,? where Marshall pulls up a stool and gets smoky. I like Marshall?s sense of pacing here, too.

The song is, necessarily, an elongated thought. This is, after all, the blues. But nobody?s trudging through it. (And Avis again is a wonder: Listen for his B.B. King-ish musings, before Marshall comes charging back in at about the midway point.)

And speaking of pacing, that blues is a nice prologue for the fusion-inspired tune ?Eclipse? that follows ? a song with a sound straight out of the 1970s Columbia Records jazz bin. (This is also a good thing.)

Straight-ahead jazz fans need not get nervous, however. ?Say That? is so in the pocket, I was waiting for Cannonball Adderly to pump up the crowd when the song ended. Like his local performances, ?New Spices? finds Marshall once again effortlessly moving from strong R&B grooves to that familiar, misty elegance we?ve come to love. By the album?s end, Marshall has reasserted his artistry as a North Louisiana sax player of the first order.
 
P.S.: The Tisa mentioned here is Tisa Blakes, the first-time candidate for public office who made such a great showing last Tuesday.

Good people.
 
Anybody heard Gatemouth Brown?s ode to Monroe?

"Sitting on a suitcase, in the Memphis depot ? wishing to God I could fly,? sings Clarence ?Gatemouth? Brown on my old record. ?Catching this train is my way of telling Memphis and Mildred goodbye.?

People have actually asked me to bring it to parties.

The album ? and it is an album, on vinyl pressed in 1975 ? is unremarkable enough. Really, ?The Bogalusa Boogie Man? looks like nothing more than another old blues record, issued by the tiny Barclay label.

The fourth song on side one, though: It?s called ?Monroe, Louisiana.?

This is something of a local legend. Yes, the song exists, detailing the bad end of that affair with Mildred ? a woman Gatemouth says he met while performing as ?a picker in a West Memphis lounge.?

Problem with Mildred was that she was ?from the rich side of town. ? and champagne ain?t my cup of tea,? sings Brown, who?s performed several times in Monroe ? including a celebrated appearance last year at the Louisiana Folklife Festival.

?She wanted to make me something I ain?t,? Brown sings. ?But Gatemouth just couldn?t be made.?

So Gatemouth decided to head to friendlier climes: ?Monroe, Louisiana, is a beer drinking town. Got lots of friends there that won?t let me down,? he sings. ?They?ve heard me fiddle and they?ve heard me sing. Going back to Monroe, where Gatemouth?s the king.?

The song was actually written by Danny Morrison, with music by acoustic guitarist Red Lane. It was recorded at the Studio in the Country down in Bogalusa.

But here?s the thing: Nobody can find this song. It?s not on the Web. It certainly ain?t in stores.

It?s sitting on a shelf with the rest of my albums from the 1970s.

Sadly, I?ve heard Gatemouth fiddle and I?ve heard him sing, but I haven?t heard ?Monroe, Louisiana? in a while. My stylus is broken.
 
Groovin' on the Neville Brothers right now ...

It?s hard to define Aaron Neville?s music.

Even for Aaron Neville.

Rhythm and blues? He nods. Soul? He nods. Gospel? Now more than ever.

But country?

He and his brothers do it all. In fact, Neville?s signature move is pure country: a falsetto, yodel-like tremolo ? heard ringing above the downtown buildings Saturday night in Monroe.

Neville closed out the first day of the Louisiana Folklife Festival?s activities. The free event reopens this morning at 11 a.m. at the downtown riverfront.

Even with the success that collaborations with Linda Ronstadt brought in the 1990s, he never stopped performing and recording with the Neville Brothers. ?That?s the franchise,? he says Saturday, moments before going on stage in Monroe.

In fact, for much of the 1970s and ?80s, Neville was better known for his work with those
famous siblings, with whom he toured constantly. That despite an explosive entry into the pop charts with the late-1960s hit ?Tell It Like It Is.?

But his work with early country-rock star Ronstadt seemed to embolden Neville?s solo work.

Not only did he find himself on the pop charts again with hits like ?Don?t Know Much? and ?Everybody Plays the Fool,? he even came to embrace those country leanings. In the early 1990s, he recorded ?The Grand Tour,? written by George Jones.

A CD released in 1994 did the unthinkable: It debuted in the Top 10 on the pop, R&B and country charts.

?All of it?s in there,? Neville says of his music.

He certainly has the right story for a country song. Seems Aaron?s days of halcyon youth didn?t last long: By the time Neville turned 18, he was married and serving time in the parish prison for stealing a car.

It?s said that Aaron spent part of his six-month sentence writing songs ? including an early hit called ?Over You.? Recordings of that music with legendary New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint resulted in some of Neville?s earliest successes ? at least locally.

The records made little impact on the national music scene, leaving Neville to toil as a dock worker and truck driver to support his family. Then Neville found a song written by Lee Diamond, the former bandleader for Little Richard.

The story is that ?Tell It Like It Is? only took Diamond about 15 minutes to compose. But it wrote Neville?s ticket.

Born Jan. 24, 1941 as the third of the four brothers, young Aaron grew up in a house full of music. His mom was once in a song-and-dance group. There was also the influence of older siblings Charles and Art ? who had a hand in recording ?Mardi Gras Mambo,? the pre-Lenten festival?s unofficial anthem.

A live recording, 1984?s ?Neville-ization,? features the tune ?Fear, Hate, Envy, Jealousy.? Yet the brothers themselves, even after decades together, don?t show any signs of sibling rivalry ? much less strife.

?We don?t argue any more than any other family,? Neville says. ?The worst it might be is over the order of songs on the set list.?

They still travel together, in one configuration or another; brother Charles was the first one off the bus in Monroe. They are also still growing together, this time toward the Lord.

Raised in the Calliope housing project, Neville heard the music of the American South, the Caribbean, and Africa wafting across the nearby bend in the Mississippi River.

All of it was in the Louisiana Folklife Festival show, too. We heard a little R&B from Aaron Neville, to be sure. But also pop and funk, country and reggae ? and gospel.

As Neville tells it, the best hints at his other major influence ? inspirational music ? came on the Neville Brothers? records themselves.

For instance, during the fertile late-1980s period when Neville worked with producer Daniel Lanois, he lent his angelic tenor to both ?Amazing Grace? and ?A Change is Gonna Come.?

?There?s always been a little bit of gospel in it,? Neville says Saturday, as C.C. Adcock performs on stage. ?Listen to (1990?s) ?Brother?s Keeper.? You?ll catch little bits and pieces all along.?

Fulfilling what he calls a life-long dream, Neville recently released his first all-inspirational album ? the well-received ?Devotion.? He says it was a struggle to get it done. ?I?d been wanting to do a gospel record for years now,? Neville admits.

But record executives weren?t interested. Then, his label was sold and the thinking changed.

Neville now says he has plans for another all-inspirational release, and maybe even a gospel package tour. But, first there?s a new Neville Brothers project.

The four will be recording then touring again soon ? and, of course, closing out the Jazz and Heritage Festival.

?All you got to do is wake up and do it,? Neville says of his hectic schedule. ?I can think of harder things to do.?

Then, Neville?s up and gone, ready for another show.
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Here are selected artists featured in New Orleans at the 2005 Jazzfest Heritage Fair Music Schedule ...

Friday, April 22
Buckwheat Zydeco, Tribute to Louis Armstrong featuring Marcus Belgrave, Donald Harrison, Sonny Landreth, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Jeremy Davenport, New Orleans Allstar Music Tribute, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Boogie Kings, Olympia Brass Band, Us3, Dillard University Jazz Ensemble ...
Saturday, April 23
The Original Meters Reunion: Art, Zig, George & Leo, The Roots, Buddy Guy, Dave Bartholomew, Irma Thomas, Shirley Horn, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Ellis Marsalis, Snooks Eaglin, Rockin' Dopsie, Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Jelly Roll Morton: Small and Hot Combos, Xavier University Jazz Ensemble, Funky 7 Brass Band ...
Sunday, April 24
Dr. John, Nelly, G. Love & Special Sauce, Rebirth Brass Band, Tribute to Little Walter featuring Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, Jerry Portnoy, Carrie Bell and Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jazz Messengers Legacy Band w/ Benny Golson featuring Curtis Fuller, Campbell Brothers, Cyril Neville & the Uptown Allstars, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Chris Thomas King, Big Chief Dollis & the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians, Trombone Woodshed featuring Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and Curtis Fuller, Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys, Luther Kent & Trickbag, Danza, Hot 8 Brass Band, ...
Thursday, April 28
B.B. King, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Papa Grows Funk, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Heath Brothers featuring Jimmy Heath, Albert "Tootie" Heath and Percy Heath, Howlin' Wolf Tribute featuring Eddie Shaw, Hubert Sumlin and Henry Gray, Banu Gibson & New Orleans Hot Jazz, Sunpie Barnes & the Louisiana Sunspots, Charmaine Neville & Friends, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson ...
Friday, April 29
Marcia Ball, Louis Hayes & The Cannonball Adderly Legacy Band, Henry Butler, C.J. Chenier, Doc Cheatham Memorial Jazz Band featuring Nicholas Payton, Trumpet Woodshed featuring Maurice Brown and Marlon Jordan, Charles Neville Quartet, New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, NOCCA Jazz Ensemble, Coolbone Brass Band ...
Saturday, April 30
Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm, Allen Toussaint, Roy Haynes 80th Birthday Celebration, Nicholas Payton, Walter "Wolfman" Washington & the Roadmasters, Marva Wright & the BMWs, The Dixie Cups, Germaine Bazzle, Raful Neal Jr., Glass House Reunion w/ The Original Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Thomas "Big Hat" Fields, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio, Fredy Omar con su Banda, Los Calientes, Kidd Jordan-Al Fielder & IAQ,
Sunday, May 1
The Neville Brothers, Isaac Hayes, Pete Fountain, Tribute to John Coltrane featuring McCoy Tyner, Ravi Coltrane, James Carter & Charnett Moffett, Angela Strehli and sp. guest Irma Thomas, Slide Summit featuring Roy Rogers & the Delta Rhythm Kings with Lil' Ed, John Mooney, Bob Margolin, and Drink Small, Terence Blanchard, Aaron Neville, Black & Blue Mardi Gras Indians featuring Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Paulette Wright & Volume of Praise, J. Monque'D Blues Band.
 
Did you see where jazz guitarist Pat Metheny went OFF on Kenny G? Heh.

This is from the Opinion page at All About Jazz, and as you can see at the bottom, it's signed by Metheny ...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/articles/arti0900_03.htm

Most relevant passage ...

not long ago, kenny g put out a recording where he overdubbed himself on top of a 30+ year old louis armstrong record, the track ?what a wonderful world?. with this single move, kenny g became one of the few people on earth i can say that i really can't use at all - as a man, for his incredible arrogance to even consider such a thing, and as a musician, for presuming to share the stage with the single most important figure in our music.

this type of musical necrophilia - the technique of overdubbing on the preexisting tracks of already dead performers - was weird when natalie cole did it with her dad on ?unforgettable? a few years ago, but it was her dad. when tony bennett did it with billie holiday it was bizarre, but we are talking about two of the greatest singers of the 20th century who were on roughly the same level of artistic accomplishment. when larry coryell presumed to overdub himself on top of a wes montgomery track, i lost a lot of the respect that i ever had for him - and i have to seriously question the fact that i did have respect for someone who could turn out to have have such unbelievably bad taste and be that disrespectful to one of my personal heroes.

but when kenny g decided that it was appropriate for him to defile the music of the man who is probably the greatest jazz musician that has ever lived by spewing his lame-***, jive, pseudo bluesy, out-of-tune, noodling, wimped out, ****ed up playing all over one of the great louis?s tracks (even one of his lesser ones), he did something that i would not have imagined possible. he, in one move, through his unbelievably pretentious and calloused musical decision to embark on this most cynical of musical paths, **** all over the graves of all the musicians past and present who have risked their lives by going out there on the road for years and years developing their own music inspired by the standards of grace that louis armstrong brought to every single note he played over an amazing lifetime as a musician.


by disrespecting louis, his legacy and by default, everyone who has ever tried to do something positive with improvised music and what it can be, kenny g has created a new low point in modern culture - something that we all should be totally embarrassed about - and afraid of. we ignore this, ?let it slide?, at our own peril.
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:lmao:
 
That's not surprising coming from Pat M. he's very outspoken. Speaking of Pat, PMG (Pat Metheny Group) has a new CD out entitled The Way Up. It's an excellent CD, but then again I'm bias, since I'm a huge Pat fan anyway. But check it out
 
MACBFAC said:
That's not surprising coming from Pat M. he's very outspoken. Speaking of Pat, PMG (Pat Metheny Group) has a new CD out entitled The Way Up. It's an excellent CD, but then again I'm bias, since I'm a huge Pat fan anyway. But check it out
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Did you buy "Secret Story" a few years back? Perhaps Metheny's best "solo" record, the cover art is very telling: There's no central image, but a dizzying patchwork of photographs.

The lineup, despite not being credited to the Group, is much the same: Leave it to Pat Metheny to make a solo album with about 80 other players -- including everybody from the Metheny Group and a good portion of the London Orchestra.

I was more concerned with the possible absence of one in particular: But on a rare recording without major input from Lyle Mays, Metheny seemed to have freed up some.

He plays acoustic piano on one track; he adds bird noises to another.
And, never fear: Mays does appear. In fact, the album played like a reunion throughout -- with bandmates past and present all sitting in.

Metheny copped to it, saying more people played on "Secret Story" (his first, er, solo since 1979's "New Chautauqua") "than on all the records I've made combined."

Slight on improvisation, this album is long on flourish -- from the frentic voices of the Choir of the Cambodian Royal Palace in the first half to the crashing entrace of full orchestration toward the end.

Metheny has only rarely explored straight-ahead jazz -- notably on the great "80/81" and the superb "Questions and Answers." His interests seem to lie more in the hybrid; once I accepted that, I came to understand why experiments like this one succeed so completely.

A song like "Finding and Believing," which is broken up into three sections, comes across as the natural fruition of his best Metheny Group records -- with the added wooosh of strings.

An intriguing record, one that is perhaps better early in the proceedings. "Secret Story" is nothing if not subtle at times, though ... meaning it must be listened to loudly and often.

I just love this CD, though. Can't say how many times I have listened to the first half of it.
 
lightningbug said:
Did you buy "Secret Story" a few years back? Perhaps Metheny's best "solo" record, the cover art is very telling: There's no central image, but a dizzying patchwork of photographs.
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Yeah I have it, I have darn near every CD or DVD Pat has put out with PMG, The trio
or solo album.All of Pat's work paints a broad spectrum from cuts such as Beat 70 to First Circle the musical canvas adorned with wide colorful strokes.
If you every get a chance to catch one of his concerts live be sure to jump on it.It will be a experience you'll never forget!!
 
We talked some about Branford Marsalis. Let's check in again with brother Wynton, this time with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra ... A favorite is 1994's 'The Fire of the Fundamentals' on Columbia.

While it doesn't have the cohesiveness of 1992's "Portraits of Ellington," this makes its own kind of statement.
The playlist is an evocative pairing of older, traditional big-band selections by composers like Billy Strayhorn, with more modern tunes from Miles, Monk and Coltrane. In that way, the CD nearly mirrors the band's own makeup.

First, we have a pride of young lions: Marcus Roberts (then newly named musical director) is featured both alone as a member of Wynton's band.
More experienced finger-snapping is provided by the late Betty Carter and Jimmy Heath, of the middle aged school.
Finally, the release is rounded out by some of the forefathers -- Jay McShann (whose group was for a time, considered second only to the Basie band) and Milt Grayson, a really fine singer.
"Fire of the Fundamentals," then, is an in-depth, kicky look at the center's wide personnel swath and the orchestra's varied repertoire.

One of the chanciest pieces here, Davis' "Flamenco Sketches" as envisioned by the Marsalis septet, is the closest the record comes to stumbling. Marsalis, while he clearly has a handle on the sheet music, is missing the point.
What's important to remember about Miles is that -- even in his coolest, long note solitude -- he had a ferocity of vision. He had, well, FIRE.
The glimmer on this tune, appearing like a moth around the porch light, is Roberts. He simply has a commanding grasp of both Bill Evan's lyricism and finesse, and Herbie Hancock's vaguely ribald blues tinge. They're both here.

Betty Carter's offering is a high point: "You're Mine You," with all the usual joys of Carter's elastic vocalizing, is made more murky and great by the expert backing of pianist Cyrus Chestnut and his trio. (For a hearty look at this young man's quickly evolving jazz vision, begin with "Revelation," one of his early records on Atlantic.)
 
Re: On jazz guitarists, a sentimental favorite ...

lightningbug said:
The first jazz record I ever heard was Wes Montgomery playing with Jimmy Smith on 1966's "The Dynamic Duo" on Verve. Orchestration -- including a very muscular "Down By the Riverside" -- was by Oliver Nelson.

My father and I were into what was then called Soul Jazz -- and this record, along with the seminal live Cannonball record "At the Club" were the touchstones of our groove thing.
Favorite line from the liner notes, concerning Montgomery, was a reference to his "amazing, blazing guitar phrasing."

Still got that sucker on vinyl -- both the copy we listened to (my father died when I was a teenager), the one with his name carefully written on it by my mother ... and the replacement copy for casual listening -- AND the (now never used) cassette tape, and the (now nearly worn out) compact disc. Ain't love grand?
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Jimmy's dead.

Smith, the man who single-handedly reinvented the Hammond B3 organ for jazz and created the model sound of the organ trio (organ-guitar-drums) in the mid-1950s. Smith died yesterday of natural causes at his home in Scottsdale, AZ. He was 76 years old.
MORE HERE: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=5267
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Another great record to check out, if you want a taste of what made this guy so cool, is that 1960 groove bomb called "Back at the Chicken Shack." Perfectly named, even better played: this Blue Note classic is of singular brilliance.

Primarily this was because Smith was among the first to understand the importance of a foot in the organ style. He also played with a rare two-handed artistry, equally adept at left-hand chordal accompaniment, as with solo lines in the right. Throughout, everything was greasy and, more often than not, up-tempo. Great, great party music.

Thing is, even with all this R&B, blues, and gospel, Smith was clearly a fan of bebop (as was his labelmate Lou Donaldson, for instance) meaning he moved freely among both the roots and the jazz crowds.

Side note: This was also one of the first albums to properly feature tenorman Stanley Turrentine. The great Kenny Burrell is on guitar.
 
Here's a look at Smith's final recording:

Dot Com Blues (Blue Thumb) is the new album by the supreme organist in music today. Featuring an all-star cast of supporting musicians including B.B. King, Etta James, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, and Keb Mo, Dot Com Blues proves that though Smith is often thought off as only a jazz organist, he can play the blues with the best of them, which he does literally on this album!

"When we speak about the Hammond B3," states Ron Goldstein, President of The Verve Music Group who worked closely with Smith on Dot Com Blues, "there is nobody better than Jimmy. Though the organ faded into obscurity for a while, now it's on everybody's records! I thought, 'why should the man who is the master remain in obscurity?' I figured the best way to swing the spotlight back around to Jimmy was to have him cut something outside of the jazz marketplace. Why not the blues?"

Goldstein brought in friend and producer John Porter, who has worked behind the boards with an eclectic range of musical acts, from The Smiths to The Go-Go's to John Lee Hooker & Eric Clapton. He's produced five GRAMMY -winning albums, and has also graced several breakthrough crossover blues albums; most notably Taj Mahal's acclaimed Phantom Blues and B.B. King's award-winning, all-star project, Deuces Wild. The result is an extra special, well-rounded, bluesy 11-song Jimmy Smith album that definitely stands up to his finest works.

Each and every track on Dot Com Blues sparkles with the spontaneity and chemistry that filled the studio. Gathering all this talent in the same recording studio was a rare feat. (Don Was and Bette Midler, who were cutting a record next door, stopped by just to watch.) A man of few words, Smith succinctly, but jokingly, described Etta as "fun," Taj as "crazy," and Dr. John as "a mess." With Smith on organ, Harvey Mason on drums, Verve labelmate Russell Malone on guitar, and Reggie McBride on bass, the core band sounds as if they've been playing together for years.

The album kicks off with "Only In It for the Money," featuring the inimitable Dr. John on vocals and piano. Smith opens the up-tempo shuffle with his trademark blazing organ licks. Next up is the organist's own tune, the funky instrumental "8 Counts for Rita," which has standout solos from Smith and Malone, along with the added flavor of Lenny Castro's percussion.

Taj Mahal delivers a scintillating performance on his composition "Strut." Comping tastefully behind Taj and Smith for most of the tune, Malone steps to the forefront for a searing solo that is one of the album's high points. Smith grabs the spotlight on the next track, the blues perennial "C.C. Rider."

In a true meeting of legends, Etta James offers up a smoldering vocal on Willie Dixon's "I Just Wanna Make Love To You," confirming that her vocal chords are clearly as strong as ever. Smith's spry playing on this track is ably assisted by the Texicali Horns and Was (Not Was) vocalists Sir Harry Bowens and Sweet Pea Atkinson.

The tone of the album shifts wonderfully for the next track to Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo". While listening to playbacks during the session, Smith dozed off momentarily and when he awoke, he immediately corralled the other musicians (including the fabulous John Clayton on upright bass) back into the studio to cut a strong, spontaneous version of this standard.

Contemporary blues star Keb Mo, a longtime Smith fan, was thrilled to contribute his vocals and guitar licks to Smith's lowdown rendition of Keb's newly-penned "Over and Over." B.B. King was also happy to team up with Smith, and their collaboration, "Three O'Clock Blues," finds the old friends reuniting and proving why they are living legends.

The disc's title track, "Dot Com Blues," is inspired by Jimmy's observations on the troubles our high-tech world has created. It not only features classic Smith organ work, but another stand-out solo by Malone as well. This track is followed by the funky instrumental "Mr. Johnson" which again pairs Smith with Dr. John. The latter's influence is clear as the tune features a classic New Orleans vibe.

Dot Com Blues concludes, fittingly, with "Tuition Blues," a slow blues and showcase for Smith's peerless organ prowess; he's still capable of stunning listeners.

MORE HERE: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...uethumb/artist.asp?aid=2740+jimmy+smith&hl=en
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hassan said:
HAVE TRUMPET WILL EXCITE by Dizzy Gillespie (love it)
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A small group setting recorded in '59. While it doesn't have the flare of the earlier big band sessions, Diz puts on a trumpet CLINIC.

My buddy knew of it because his dad owned a copy - but wouldn't let his son steal it from him. Later, he found a scratchy copy at a used record store and was happy to shell out 17 bucks for it. This old vinyl copy on cassette was then passed around. Now Verve has finally released (unleashed?) this buried treasure on CD. If you find it, buy it.

hassan said:
NATURAL SOUL - Lou Donaldson (feat. John Patton - love it)
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Check out Lou Donaldson The Best of Lou Donaldson, Vol. 2 (1967-1970)
Underrated depending on who you ask. Jazz purists derided Lou's 1960s work as being lazy excercises in long vamps. But Donaldson was undeniably funky - and nobody touched him in that area until the Meters came about at the end of the decade.

But wait, Lou is a sax player, you say? Yeah, but it was Lonnie Smith's wailing organ combined with Idris Muhammed's deep-in-the-pocket rhythms that made these tracks gospel for legions of young jam band musicians of the last decade or so.
 
We continue - how come it took so long?! - our look at forgotten classics from Miles ...

Walkin' (1954): The success of the 1949-1951 The Birth Of The Cool sessions proved to be more than what a young Miles Davis could handle and soon he fell into an abyss of heroin addiction. But a few years later, he crawled out of it on his own and was ready to reclaim the mantle of jazz' foremost innovator. In the year and a half before he got his fame back with a memorable performance at Newport in 1955, Miles recorded several albums with some of the top players at the time that signaled his comeback was imminent. Walkin', the best of these, had Miles backed up by Horace Silver, Percy Heath and Kenny "Klook" Clarke. The two lead off tunes were blues burners with sublime solos taken by JJ Johnson and Lucky Thompson. Miles himself plays with a style that sounds more be-bop than cool, but it fits the occasion. Other tracks consist of some of the earliest recordings of Miles' now recognizable muted sound. Well recorded by the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

A Tribute To Jack Johnson (1970) One of Miles' most paradoxical recordings. It's mostly a stripped down rock jam session, but there are several interludes dubbed in. The spontaneity and unpredictability of 'Right Off' contrasts with the majestic final section of the only other track, 'Yesternow'. There's really no fully formed songs here, just ideas that almost seem randomly juxtaposed together. But somehow it all works. The psychic interplay between guitarist John McLaughlin and drummer Billy Cobham is worth the price of admission alone. And Miles had never played a meaner horn, it's as if he stepped into the ring for a championship match, like the subject of this record. One of the finest moments ever in fusion jazz.

Star People (1983) The 1981 comeback after a six year hiatus showed the old master to sound frail and rusty, but after a couple of years, he got his chops back as good as before. In this outing, Miles doesn't really introduce anything new to what he had been doing for a while, he simply executes better. In addition to the rock and funk influences, reggae is a bit more prominent here. But the nineteen minute title track is a wonder: a straight-ahead slow blues tune played by someone who oozed the blues even if he was never known for it. Two master guitarists, John Scofield and Mike Stern, battle it out in an epic clash of the axes. The leader interrupts the mood every five minutes are so with synthesizer splotches of minor chords as if to startle the listener with a striking contrast. The Mad Genius is at it again.

Aura (1985) Interesting story behind this one that I'll try to condense as much as possible: Danish flugelhorn player Palle Mikkelbourg composes, arranges and records an album dedicated to Miles, who stopped by in Denmark at Mikkelbourg's invitation as the project was completing. In a last minute decision, the man of honor agrees to dub his trumpet on top of the recordings. Columbia, which had by this time was convinced that Miles had no more *****es Brews left in him, promptly put the recording on the shelf for four years. What a shame, because Aura, while complex, is an aptly named record. Majestic Gil Evans overtones permeate the suite, punctuated by funk rhythms and McLaughlin's cutting guitar. Many passages make this sound very much of the mid-eighties, but Mikkelbourg's inspired compositions and arrangements with Miles' timeless tone easily overcome that.

Mark Isham Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project (1999) Whoa, what's this? Not only is this not Miles, but isn't this guy the new age music trumpeter better known for cranking out a dozen movie soundtracks a year??? Yep, that's what I thought, too, but listen to this one. To tackle songs from Miles most enigmatic period (1969-1974) is a daunting task in itself, but Isham chooses to record them in a live setting and prefers to replicate the raw aspect of the early fusion period over the complexity of the multi-tiered keyboards, percussion and dubs of the time. For someone known for the hand handed music production required for the big screen this is an amazing thing to pull off, but the live format probably has a lot to do with tempering Isham?s normal predisposition. Even the one original, "Internet", is essentially a riff that Miles could have easily invented himself. And while Isham's trumpet playing doesn't duplicate the Original's as well as, say, Wallace Roney, it's pretty damned close; take a few notes out and you're there.

OK, another Miles album. Really: Live-Evil (1970). If we must disqualify Isham's record, then I would replace it with this one. The leadoff track 'Sivad' is about the most wicked piece to come from Miles (which says plenty) and the live tracks capture the brief period in which Keith Jarrett was playing in the band. Despite Jarrett's later criticism of the music his former boss asked him to play, he actually sounds like he was a good fit in it.
 
Did you see Letterman tonight? The Rev. Green did "Perfect to Me," the first single from his new album 'Everything's OK.' That's out tomorrow on Blue Note Records.

One for the ages - equal parts church service and live concert. Feeling the spirit, Green delivered an impassioned and energetic plea, falling down to his knees at one point, venturing out into the audience at another. He hit his soaring signature high notes with ease, and brought the house down with his moving delivery of this beautiful horn-and-string driven ode to a life-long love.

If you missed Green with Dave tonight, tune in to Good Morning America tomorrow morning, when I hear he will perform two songs. He will also be the featured interview guest on Comedy Central's Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Wednesday.
 
JROCK said:
A Few of JROCKS Favorites:

Miles Davis...Tutu..This cut gives me a serious "high."
Click to expand...

Dug back into this recently, and was surprised by how much I liked it - but also how of-its-time this record had become. Sounded very 80s to me.

Of course ... that can be good, and bad.

I wore out my "Tutu" cassette during late ?86 and early ?87. Still, it typically takes a long time for me to get the right perspective on a Miles record. That's primarily because he often took his music in a direction that some mainstream listeners might not have been ready to follow.

Tutu, however, is notable not so much for its innovation, but that it marks Miles? first record by a new label in 30 years and the beginning of his final fully-realized phase, a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller.

After more than a quarter century of a historically successful relationship between a musician and a record company, Columbia had grown tired of declining interest in jazz: Fusion. Miles' primary outlet, wasn?t catching on with the younger crowd. Meanwhile, the older fans? interest quickly subsided after the ?81 comeback. Deciding that no more *****es Brews was forthcoming, Columbia ditched Davis in 1985 when the star-studded You?re Under Arrest was greeted with a yawn. Warner Brothers jumped on the rare opening and signed up Miles shortly afterwards.

Leaving nothing to chance, Warners assigned their ace jazz producer Tommy LiPuma to shepherd the making of new album. Since Miles? manager unwisely signed away future songwriting royalties to Warners, Miles refused to compose any music under his new contract, and LiPuma casted about for someone other than Miles who could write ?Miles Davis? songs. He soon chose a bass player in Miles? early eighties band, Marcus Miller.

Good move.

Miller, who could also play guitar, keyboards, and a pretty good bass clarinet, had also written compositions for David Sanborn and a couple of his own albums. All this, combined with his previous familiarity with Davis made him a most logical choice.

Song contributions were solicited from George Duke and Prince (whose composition didn?t make the final cut; see previous posts here). Miller undertook the bulk of the instrumentation, including the obligatory sax foil to Miles, a position once held by the likes of Coltrane and Shorter.

Most of the tracks sound much like funk-pop with dark chords and splashes of dissonance to give it the feel of Miles. The lead off title tune is a slow-tempo strut that evokes the cockiness that is part and parcel of the leader?s personality. ?Portia? is another in a string of Miller?s strong ballads. ?Splatch? and ?Full Nelson? are funk excursions that could as easily worked without Davis.

Yet, there are those weird, welcome Miles moments. ?Perfect Way? is a curious cover of MTV pop tune by a one-hit wonder called Scritti Politti from a year earlier, but it includes this wicked-sounding alternate bridge pasted on top. ?Don?t Lose Your Mind? features an unhinged violin solo by Michel Urbaniak, a rare instance of risk-taking on this collection.

The best tune from this album, of course, was the one co-written by Miles himself, ?Tomaas?. With a reggae beat married to repetitive single note underpinned by some very nifty bass work by Miller, Miles and Miller (also on soprano sax) trade fours and eights in a rare opportunity for Miles to stretch out.

LiPuma?s 80s-style cutting-edge production, in the end, gave the album a sound that?s actually similar to You?re Under Arrest, only slicker, and with somewhat stronger songs. It's a late-period record from Miles, and that means it's both occasionally brilliant and just as often obvious.

But, man, I still love it when I'm in the mood for some driving music.

hl00672452.jpg
 
Tomorrow (April 7) marks what would have been Billie Holiday's 90th birthday
and BET Jazz will celebrate by airing a special hosted by legendary drummer
Roy Haynes. The special features extremely rare video of Holiday that hasn't
been seen since the 50s.

These performances, music, an audio interview with Mike Wallace and more are
featured on the two-CD/DVD boxed set 'Billie Holiday: The Ultimate
Collection' which Newsweek called "an essential set."

If you are in NYC tune in Friday, 4/8 to the "WBGO Jornal" on WBGO 88.3 FM
at 7:30pm where journalist Ashley Kahn will talk about Billie Holiday and
the collection. Ashley wrote the liner notes for the boxed set.
 
THE FIFTY FUNKIEST RECORDS EVER???

http://www.thestudentzone.com/articles/funkyarticle3.html

Tighten Up: Loose-limbed brilliance.

Brothers Johnson: Yes, you are funkin' now!

Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, the Band and Cameo: Special, underrated.

Commodores' "Brick House": Not underrated, still great.

Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop": Not underrated, still tremendous.

No. 6-10 is a murderer's row of groove.

Still, if James Brown isn't on the top of the list - and he isn't - then this ain't no list.
 
Re: Back to blues ...

It you're interested in Delta piano stylings, as seen through the sieve of Chicago's mean streets, here's a great place to begin your journey -- "Chicago Piano, 1951-58," issued by Stan Lewis's hip-shaking local indie label and featuring Sunnyland Slim, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Slim and others ...

Sunnyland leads the charge, appearing with his own group and backing guitarist Floyd Jones. The great Willie Dixon and Otis Rush sit in on many of these sides, playing bass and guitar.

The find, though, is Shakey Horton -- a guy with a great, pure R&B voice. His shuffle, "Need My Baby," includes the strongest accompaniment of the series -- with sharp guitar and on-the-money sax fills.
 
By the way ... Memphis Slim, who backed Big Bill Broonzy in the 1940s, is also featured on four on-the-floor sides. (Slim was the first to head to Europe and make a name, something that set the table for later starving-in-America stars like Gatemouth Brown in the 1970s.)

The two Little Brother Montgomery tunes are studies of 1950s blues dichotomy -- his "Keep Drinkin'" is all quivery Delta, with the whisperiest of backing; "Boogie," on the other hand, absolutely gallops.
 
I know little about jazz, but I listen to a mix CD a friend gave me in my classroom everyday. It's soothing. I am really into Idris Muhammed.

Who is he?
 
jagface said:
I know little about jazz, but I listen to a mix CD a friend gave me in my classroom everyday. It's soothing. I am really into Idris Muhammed.

Who is he?
Click to expand...

A funk and jazz drummer of the first order, born in New Orleans as Leo Morris.

He started out, of course, playing in soul bands, and some great ones - Larry Williams, the Impressions, Jerry Butler. Played on 'People Get Ready,' and with a group called the Hawkettes, which featured his neighbor Art Neville on piano.

Was actually playing in the musical Hair, I believe, when he got a gig as a member of the house band in the early 1970s for Prestige, the famous jazz label.

He's worked with everybody in the soul, bop and groove end of things. Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Grant Green, Lonnie Smith, the hard-bopping Johnny Griffin and Pharaoh Sanders, a former Coltrane sideman. He was also a longtime drummer for bebop pioneer Lou Donaldson. Idris still works with Sanders on occasion.

But, there's more. He backed Grover Washington Jr., David Sanborn, Randy Brecker, John Scofield and Eric Alexander - and returned to New Orleans as a part-time resident (he lives in Austria) where Muhammad joined former Wynton Marsalis sideman Donald Harrison Jr.'s Mardi Gras Indian tribe, Congo Nation.

Predicatably, he was remade as a leading light of the 1990s "acid jazz" movement. Many think his best music in this vein can be found on two CTI albums, "House of the Rising Sun" and (of course) "Power of Soul."

Ah, yes the 'Power of Soul.' Indeed.
The record features Washington and Bob James - and "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This," actually one of the best disco songs ever. All of it has been fodder for countless rap albums.

His work with Grant ('Alive,' on Blue Note) also helped cement his status among the dance- and groove-oriented jazz lovers.

But Muhammad never completely got away from popular music, working with singer Roberta Flack (yes, that's him on 'Killing Me Softly'), and even working with the "art-rock" band Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

In the end, he can be found on countless great records, with Herbie Hancock and Horace Silver, from Fats Domino and Sam Cooke.


RECOMMENDED:
Black Rhythm Revolution (Prestige 1971)
Power Of Soul (Kudu 1975)
Boogie To the Top (Fantasy 1977)
Legends of Acid Jazz (Prestige 1996)
The Songs Of Sonny Rollins (Milestone 1997)
 
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